The electric car charging market could be worth $207.5 billion by 2030. The fate of the dozens of startups racing to tackle the white-hot space could dictate how drivers adopt EVs.

• Critical to the future of electric cars is the cost, and convenience of plugging them in.
• These factors will influence whether drivers opt for the cars over gas-powered ones.
• Here's a look at the many companies trying to make charging easier and better.

As the world's cars become electric, figuring out how to charge them will be key.

The electric car charging infrastructure market is expected to reach more than $207.5 billion by 2030, according to Guidehouse Insights, and that means new technologies and companies will continue to pop up. 

They're racing to answer the many charging questions out there: Where can I charge? How much is it to charge? How long does it take? And what if a charger is broken? 

At Insider, we've covered the electric charging industry from every angle. We've looked at the charging options available and in the works. We've looked at what tech exists and what areas could use more development. We've talked to investors about the players in the space to watch. And we've walked potential electric car buyers through some of the technologies that could make charging their car much, much easier.

Read more about the state of electric car charging below.

Plugging in, or not at all

From traditional charging infrastructure to wireless charging and everything in between, innovators are racing to provide drivers with the next best way to juice up. 

It's not just drivers that face challenges with charging; companies and groups that are changing their fleets over to electric need to have infrastructure that can handle their needs, too. And while some of these innovations won't be available for years to come, it's important to know what's in the works. 

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Charging players

A variety of companies are working on solving the charging problem. Bigger players like ChargePoint and EVgo have dominated public infrastructure so far, but new startups like SparkCharge and Blink are moving fast to challenge them.

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Challenges

Range anxiety is largely a thing of the past. Most EVs can travel 250 to 350 miles on a single charge, and experts say that's more than enough for the average driver. What drivers are still worried about is access to charging. Charging deserts, confusing and expensive payment processes, and dysfunctional and broken charging ports are still a huge turnoff to EVs. 

Those challenges provide opportunities, but there's lots of work to be done to address the charging barriers to EVs.

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